I know I am not
being too cynical in saying that we Christians generally lack evangelistic zeal. I
have noticed that I can talk to my friends about almost anything except the
gospel of Jesus Christ. There are perhaps two situations where we struggle with
evangelism: 1) we do not care about evangelism; 2) we care, but find it
extremely difficult.
John Chapman’s work
is a kind of Christian primer on evangelism. His book is divided into two
sections: 1) Knowing Why and 2) Knowing How to tell the gospel. He starts by explaining
the gospel, and then considers why evangelism is both the duty and privilege of
every person who professes faith in Jesus Christ. In the second part, he offers
practical suggestion as to how Christians can start telling the gospel.
John’s argument
is readable and theologically robust. Having personally been heavily involved in
evangelism, he writes from experience and with pastoral sensitivity to the
reality that Christians do struggle with this. He gently, yet firmly answers some
objections to evangelism and shows from Scripture the necessity of Christians
being involved in evangelism. I especially enjoy the examples he draws from
everyday life of his or other people’s experience. It lends the book a tone of honesty
and sincerity.
John is also unafraid
to admit his own failings and struggles. Sometimes I hear so many ‘success’ stories
of conversions that when I look at my feeble and unfruitful attempts at
evangelism, I get discouraged, and perhaps even feel guilty and ashamed; and this
might lead to an unwillingness to continue sharing the gospel. So it is an
encouragement to read about how God is in charge of causing people to believe
in Him, and that our job is simply to truthfully, and lovingly tell people
about the great good news of God’s gift of salvation.
Another great
feature of this book is the comprehensiveness of the scope of its content. John
manages to fit a lot of things, including a chapter on the doctrine of election,
one on the role of various members of the local church in evangelism, one on
the importance of personal evangelism. He also spends a good amount of words noting
the importance of personal growth in godliness and that evangelism is not individualistic
– having a community of Christians to support and encourage one another through
prayer and Bible study is vital, not just for evangelism but for one’s Christian
walk. So this is a great book to be reading with a friend or a small group where
experiences, both good and bad can be shared, that the group may be
collectively built up.
What I benefitted
most from reading this book is that I was reminded once again of the different
facets of the gospel message. I was reminded of human rebellion, of God’s grace
and mercy and love, of God’s sovereignty, of God’s plan for His people whom he redeemed
from sin and death, and of God’s mission on earth. Also, I was challenged to re-examine
and re-evaluate my evangelistic efforts and now find myself spurred to be bolder
as I speak to friends about Jesus.
I am realistic that
I know I will continue to struggle with evangelism; I know that I will be
discouraged when I do not ‘harvest’ anyone; I know that there will be the temptation
to forget what I have read, or ‘put aside’ evangelism when confronted with an exhausting
schedule; so I will find someone to keep me accountable. But more importantly, I
will have to apply the gospel to myself daily. I need to see the glories of Calvary,
and by God’s grace, I will know nothing ‘except Jesus Christ and him crucified’
(1 Corinthians 2:2).
Pick up this book
if you want to be captured by the beauty of the gospel, and I hope that by the
end of the book, you will be confident that you have known, and can tell the
gospel!
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